Two year report into SRE and SEE released

The Catholic Church welcomes the findings of the Review of Special Religious Education and Special Education in Ethics
The SRE team at St Patrick’s Cathedral Parish in Parramatta. Image: Supplied.

As one of the largest providers of Special Religious Education (SRE) in NSW public schools, the Catholic Church welcomes the findings of the 2015 Independent Review of Special Religious Education and Special Education in Ethics (SEE) in New South Wales Government schools. The findings continue to affirm the important place of SRE and SEE in public education.

The Catholic Church has taught religious education in public schools for over 150 years and currently delivers Special Religious Education to over 90,000 Catholic students in public schools with a volunteer workforce of over 5,000 authorised and trained SRE teachers.

We will continue to work in partnership with the Department of Education under the direction of the Minister around the policy and procedures for SRE and SEE.

We look forward to working collaboratively with Approved SRE Providers of all faiths, particularly in the areas of training and curriculum to further strengthen SRE and SEE in a multi-cultural and multi-faith environment.

In NSW, the Catholic Church supports the rights of all parents to choose Special Religious Education or Special Education in Ethics, or neither, as part of a holistic approach to the education of their children.

In the Diocese of Parramatta – the Church of Western Sydney and the Blue Mountains – we have 1,000 volunteer SRE teachers going into 190 State primary and secondary schools teaching over 18,000 students from Catholic families who choose SRE.

With thanks to Catholic Conference of Religious Educators in State Schools (CCRESS).

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